Foldable door with double bead hinge strip

ABSTRACT

1,109,845. Folding sliding doors; flexible hinges. PANELFOLD DOORS Inc. 29 April, 1965 [1 May, 1964], No. 18156/65. Headings E1J and E2F. In a folding door wherein adjacent panels 10 are pivotable relative to one another by flexible strips 10 sealing the space between adjacent panels, the sealing strip comprises shanks 30 extending into grooves 24 in the panels and an inwardly extending bead 40 and an outwardly extending bead 36 formed on the shanks. Each of the shanks has an outwardly extending flap 46 attached thereto with the flap tapering towards and engaging the outer corner edge of the panel in all positions of the panel. The beads may be hollow or solid.

June 20; 1967 G. E. DIXON FOLDABLE DOOR WITH DOUBLE BEAD HINGE STRIP Filed May 1, 1964 Guy E. Dixon INVINTOR United States Patent 3,326,268 FOLDABLE DOOR WITH DOUBLE BEAD HINGE STRIP Guy E. Dixon, Miami Shores, Fla. Panelfold Doors, Inc., 1090 E. 17th St., Hialeah, Fla. 33010) Filed May 1, 1964, Ser. No. 364,193 3 (Ilaims. (Cl. 160-231) The present invention generally relates to a folding door construction and more particularly the hinge strip interconnecting the panels of such a door in which the hinge strip is provided with a double bead with one bead being on the inner surface and the other bead on the outer surface of the strip.

The structure disclosed in the present application represents a modification and improvement of that structure disclosed in copending application, Serial No. 44,437, filed July 21, 1960, for Folding Door With Flexible Joint, now Patent No. 3,131,753 issued May 4, 1964, and also copending application Ser. No. 268,785, filed Mar. 28, 1963, for Foldable Door With Hollow Double Hinge, now Patent No. 3,232,333 issued Feb. 1, 1966.

The foldable door with the double bead hinge strip relates particularly to that type of folding door constructed of a plurality of vertically elongated rigid panels having a flexible hinge strip interconnecting the adjacent edges of adjacent panels so that the panels may be folded into a shallow accordion configuration when the door is in extended or closed position with the panels lying in adjacent side-by-side condition when in open position. The double bead hinge st-rip forms a continuous joint between the panels and provides a complete seal therebetween and includes a lateral wing extending outwardly for engagement with the corner edges of the panels thereby concealing the edges of the panels and providing a finished appearance thereto inasmuch as the edges of all of the panels are covered.

A very important object of the present invention is to provide a folding door with a hinge strip having a head on the external surface and a head on the internal surface whereby the hinge strip provides the finished ap- I pearance to the door when the joint between the panels is viewed either from the exterior or interior side of the door with the interior beads being tapered to be observed when the panels are folded into their accordion shape but lying exteriorly of the plane of the edges of the panels when the panels are disposed in side-by-side relation thus serving to provide a finished appearance to the panels and also having a configuration so constructed that the panels are normally slightly spaced from each other when in side-by-side relation to prevent marring and scratching thereof due to the panels engaging each other.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hinge strip for a folding panel door including inner and outer beads and laterally projecting legs forming part of the hinge strip with the legs having enlarged beads on the edges thereof for reception in enlarged bottoms of grooves formed on the edges of the panels with the legs also having laterally extending tapered wings which extend downwardly into engagement with the outer corner edges of the panel for concealing the edges of the panels and also providing a constant resistance to movement of the door panels to their shallow accordion configuration thereby imparting an opening force to a trailing panel prior to movement of the leading panel to its shallow accordion position when the door is being moved to the extended position thereby assuring that all of the panels will be disposed at substantially the same angular orientation when in extended condition.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a folding door construction which is simple in construction,

3,326,268 Patented June 20, 1967 easy to assemble, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and neat in appearance.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top sectional view illustrating a portion of a foldable door having the double bead hinge strip in corporated therein;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the orientation of the hinge strip and the panels when in folded position;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating the panels in their unfolded or shallow accordion relationship; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective view of the flexible hinge employing the double bead of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the flexible hinge strip of the present invention incorporated into a folding panel door in which the panels are designated by reference numeral 12 and which are of rigid wood construction. As illustrated in FIGURE 1, a multiple of panels are interconnected by a plurality of hinge strips 10 with the number of panels 12 being dependent upon the width of the opening to be closed by the folding door. As illustrated, one edge of the folding door assembly is connected to a door jamb 14 by virtue of the flexible strip 16 secured in place by wooden strips 18 and a screw threaded fastener 20 or the like. The particular manner of connection with the door jamb 14 forms no part of the present invention. Also, a suitable latch construction may be provided on the free edge of the door for engagement with the opposite door j'amb. As set forth, the panels 12 are preferably constructed of wood or other suitable rigid materials having substantially flat planar surfaces and also fiat vertical edges 22. Extending into the edges 22 of each panel 12 is a continuous longitudinal groove or slot 24 which may be slightly tapered or of substantially constant width throughout the depth thereof with the side walls of the groove 24 being undercut at the bottom as indicated by numeral 26 for receiving the hinge strip 10 of the present invention.

The hinge strip 10 is preferably constructed of a flexible material such as a vinyl plastic material having memory characteristics. Hinge strip 10 is in the form of a continuous strip which extends from the top to the bottom edges of the panels and which forms an effective seal for the juncture between adjacent panels 12.

The hinge strip 10 includes a continuous inner strip 28 terminating in a pair of propjecting legs 30 which extend into the grooves 24 and which terminate in enlarged beads 32. The beads 32 are received in the enlarged bottom 26 of the groove 24 while the legs 30 are received in the grooves 24 as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. Attached to the outer surface of the hinge strip 28 is a pair of flanges 34 which are interconnected by an outer wall 36 that is substantially flat and parallel with the edges 22 of the panels 12 when they are disposed in parallel sideby-side relation. The edges of the outer wall 36 projects beyond the flanges 34 thus forming overhanging lips for concealing the construction of the flanges 34 and forming a finished appearance to the strip.

Projecting inwardly from the other side of the strip 28 is a pair of inwardly extending flanges 38 which converge inwardly and which are interconnected by an inner wall 40 which is substantially parallel to the outer wall 36 and which is disposed between the panels 12 when either in their folded or unfolded condition to provide a finished appearance thereto as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the inner wall 40 is disposed slightly outwardly beyond the edges 22 of the panels 12 when in their folded condition but the normal condition of the hinge strip as illustrated in FIGURE 4 and also as illustrated in FIGURE 2 will resiliently retain the panels 12 in spaced parallel relationship in order to prevent them from engagement with each other thereby reducing marring or scratching of the finish on the panels.

It is pointed out that the combination of the strip 28, flanges 34 and outer wall 36 defines an outer hollow area 42 or bead while the strip 28, flanges 38 and inner wall 40 form an inner hollow area 44 or bead. This construction reduces the weight of the strip and also reduces the material used and provides an effective insulator for both thermal insulation and sound insulation. Moreover the hollow area forms a cushion for protecting the edges 22 of the panels in the event they are accidentially engaged by some hard object such as an article of furniture or the like.

The legs 30 each have a laterally extending wing or flap 46 attached thereto adjacent the point of juncture between the legs 30 and the flanges 34 and 38. The wing or flap 36 tapers toward its outer edge into substantially a featheredge which engages the corner of the edge 22 of a panel 12 as illustrated in FIGURES 2. and 3 whereby the edge of the panel 22 will be covered and concealed. The wings or flaps 36 are connected with the legs 30 and will flex therewith and also the wings or flaps 46 will bend and resiliently resist the movement of the panels 12 into their unfolded condition. The flaps or wings 46 also serve to protect the portion of the edges 22 which they overlie in the event of contact therewith by an article of furniture or the like and further produce an effective seal for the portion of the door outwardly of the legs 30.

The construction of the strip may vary as to transverse dimensions depending upon the thickness of the panels with which the strip is associated. Also, the legs may have other configurations such as rounded beads on the free edges thereof or the legs have no beads at all and be secured in the grooves by suitable adhesive or other fastening means thereby enabling assembly of the panels without longitudinal movement of the strip in relation to the panels.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A folding door assembly comprising at least a pair of elongated panels disposed in edge to edge relation, the adjacent side edges of each panel having groove means defined therein, a hinge strip extending between the adjacent side edges of the panels, said hinge strip including legs etxending into said groove means for connection with the panels, said strip including an inwardly extending hollow bead and an outwardly extending hollow bead integral with the legs, each of said legs being provided with an outwardly extending flap integral therewith and spaced from said beads, each flap engaging the outer corner edge of a panel thereby concealing the edges of the panels in all positions thereof.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner bead includes a pair of inwardly converging flanges, an inner wall interconnecting said inwardly converging flanges thereby defining a hollow interior area.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said inner wall is disposed adjacent to but outwardly of and generally parallel to the edges of adjacent panels when the panels are in side by side relation and having a width substantially equal to the space between the panels when in side-by-side relation thereby forming a closure for the space between adjacent panels when the panels are in side by side relation, said inner wall being disposed in angular relation to the edges of the adjacent panels when the panels are in extended position and coacting with the converging flanges and legs to form a finished appearance to a folding door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,697,277 1/1929 Hoopes -135 2,585,645 2/1952 Freitag 2.60-231 2,912,049 11/1959 Kuyper 160-183 3,053,318 9/1962 Artman 160-231 3,131,753 5/1964 Dixon 160-183 3,232,333 2/1966 Dixon 160--183 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

D. L. TALYOR, Asszlstant Examiner. 

1. A FOLDING DOOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING AT LEAST A PAIR OF ELONGATED PANELS DISPOSED IN EDGE TO EDGE RELATION, THE ADJACENT SIDE EDGES OF EACH PANEL HAVING GROOVE MEANS DEFINED THEREIN, A HINGE STRIP EXTENDING BETWEEN THE ADJACENT SIDE EDGES OF THE PANELS, SAID HINGE STRIP INCLUDING LEGS EXTENDING INTO SAID GROOVE MEANS FOR CONNECTION WITH THE PANELS, SAID STRIP INCLUDING AN INWARDLY EXTENDING HOLLOW BEAD AND AN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING HOLLOW BEAD INTEGRAL WITH THE LEGS, EACH OF SAID LEGS BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING FLAP INTEGRAL THEREWITH AND SPACED FROM SAID BEADS, EACH FLAP ENGAGING THE OUTER CORNER EDGE OF A PANEL THEREBY CONCEALING THE EDGES OF THE PANELS IN ALL POSITIONED THEREOF. 